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Tornado Outbreak of May 28-30, 2020
The tornado outbreak of May 28–30, 2020 was a multi-day and significant tornado outbreak that affected portions of the Great Plains to the South. Meteorological synopsis May 28 On May 25, the Storm Prediction Center (SPC) issued a a risk of severe weather on their day 4 outlook, valid on May 28. The risk area was centered around eastern Colorado, northwestern Kansas, western Nebraska, and southeastern Wyoming. This risk continued to be foretasted, and the Slight risk was upgraded to an Enhanced risk on May 27 on day 2 of their outlook. By day 1, this risk area included a 10% chance of tornadoes, with a 10% chance of tornadoes of EF2+ strength occurring. By 1pm local time, several thunderstorms had developed over eastern Colorado and eastern Wyoming, moving east. Cool air from the Rockies mixed with relatively humid air over the region, causing severe thunderstorms to develop by 3pm. Throughout the rest of the afternoon, several tornadoes, mainly weak, were reported across the risk area. However, most of the damage on May 28 was caused by large hail. In some places, hail reached softball size, causing extreme damage to cars, houses, and other outside objects. Strong winds were also reported, peaking at a gust of 73mph near Wray, Colorado. May 29 On May 25, the SPC issued a 30% chance of severe weather across the central plains, covering eastern Nebraska all the way down to central Texas, on day 5 of their weekly outlook. On May 26 their day 3 outlook showed an expansive area of Enhanced risk across the previously mentioned area. The next day, a large chunk of the Enhanced risk was upgraded to a moderate risk. The day of the May 28, a much larger area of severe weather was added to the day 1 outlook, including a large area of high risk from Kansas to Texas. This high risk area included a 45% chance of tornadoes, and a large area 10% chance of EF2+ tornadoes. By 9am, severe storms were already from the Texas Panhandle to southern Nebraska. By 12pm, tornadoes were already being reported across much of the risk area. The storms also contained very large hail, and severe winds. The largest hailstone measured was 5.2 inches in diameter, and fell near Cleburne, Texas. A peak wind gust of 104mph was recorded in Emporia, Kansas. The storms continued to track eastward, spawning many tornadoes, several of which were violent (EF4+). One tornado, rated an EF3, touched down in the Dallas metro area, causing damage to the Dallas-Fort Worth airport.The last severe thunderstorm finally dissipated at 11pm. May 30 On May 27, SPC models began to pick up indications that remaining moisture would travel into the deep south after the May 29 event, and issued a 10% chance of severe weather on day 4 of their outlook. The next day, on May 28, the SPC upgraded the Slight risk to an Enhanced risk. On May 30, the risk area was upgraded to a Moderate risk, which covered most of southern Alabama, the western Florida Panhandle, extreme southeastern Mississippi and southwestern Georgia. At 1pm, thunderstorms began to develop over Mississippi and Alabama, slowly moving east. However, most of the storms failed to become supercells, with only a handful of tornadoes being reported. Despite this, hail reached up to baseball size in some areas, and numerous reports of damaging winds were recorded. A strong micro-burst struck Pensacola, Florida, causing severe damage to countless homes and businesses. Hangars at the Pensacola International Airport were severely damaged, and 2 people were killed when the small plane they were in was blown into the airport terminal. By 5pm, all of the severe storms had dissipated, though a large squall line remained, and moved eastward. The squall line eventually moved over the Atlantic by 2am the next morning. Confirmed Tornadoes May 28 event May 29 event May 30 event